


petal

by yehetno



Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, M/M, but i was wooed, i h8 me, still not my SHIP
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-05
Updated: 2016-09-05
Packaged: 2018-08-08 03:57:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7742434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yehetno/pseuds/yehetno
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Today is the day that Bin finally strikes up the nerve to talk to Dongmin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	petal

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mort3raptor](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=mort3raptor).



> well, tumblr user @mort3raptor earned it. what can i say? she paid her compliments and i am an author of my word. (do you have an ao3 acct?) happy soap for you and all those who want happy soap.
> 
>    
> forgive me and typos. please.

Some people are mesmerizing.

In Bin's opinion, Lee Dongmin might be the most mesmerizing of them all.  Perhaps the best comparison is a flower, but that still falls short.  Flowers wilt and die within weeks, offering ephemeral beauty, whereas Dongmin is always beautiful, always standing, always _welcoming._   Dongmin has pink, pink,  _pink_ lips, so pink that they almost look artificial.  Bin thinks they're so perfect because Dongmin takes the time to moisturize them properly.  A quick dab of lip balm whenever his lips seem a little less vibrant and Dongmin shines again.  Before Dongmin, Bin never would have said this, but he has this intelligent glint in his eye.  Everyone is a tiny little puzzle, and Dongmin wants to align the pieces with a charming smile and reassuring words.  Some days, Dongmin comes in with his glasses on, hair ruffled in an effortless and beautiful way, and Bin melts.  He is the picture of perfection.

His laugh, Bin could go on for hours about it if he had the time, it twinkles and floats through the air.  Bin's day can make a total turn around if he hears Dongmin laugh.

Dongmin works as a barista in a small coffee shop.  It's tucked between a used bookstore and tattoo parlor.  It amuses Bin to no end that bookworms and people painted in tattoos down a cup of coffee in the same place; the juxtaposition of timid and terrifying strikes a neutral ambiance.  It is a well-kept coffee shop; there is never trash on the floor and the small tables are never sticky.  Customers can choose between drinking to go and staying in.  The customers who stay drink their coffee and eat pastries on the fancy china.

Bin's unfortunate problem is that he admires from afar.

He goes up to order a latte and has a conversation starter on the tip of his tongue, but his confidence flounders as soon as Dongmin tells him the total.

All that Bin can do is watch and sip on his coffee.  He observes as Dongmin laughs with a co-worker while cleaning the moving parts and nobs of the coffee machine.  He hides his smile on the lip of his cup, grinning while delicately taking a drink from the very latte that Dongmin prepared for him.

Bin isn't the only one that falls for the effortless charms of Dongmin.  There are plenty of other gawkers, but the beautiful and mesmerizing always have their fair share of followers.  The disappointing part is that so many of the admirers stop at Dongmin's ethereality, a rare few, Bin amongst them, know that he occasionally helps out students who do homework with concise words.  He makes poetry out of napkins used for scratch paper.  He hums along to the ambiance music as he wipes down tables.  

Dongmin mesmerizes Bin, to the point that it's hard to find anyone, _anything_  else.

 

// 

 

Bin takes a deep breath.  Today,  _today_ is the day that he finally introduces himself to Dongmin.  He has gone through brief introductions many times before with other people, so this should be nothing.  There is no reason for it to trip him up.

He steels himself and walks in with a confident posture.  He gets to the counter and Dongmin smiles at him.  His nerves falter; suddenly, there are a million ways to mess up what should be so simple.

He stammers, "H-hi-hi, hello."

"Hello, how are you today?" Dongmin asks.

"Great," Bin replies.  He knows that he has already messed up.  He intended to ask how Dongmin is, but as always, his intentions get lost under all of the nervousness.

"What will it be today?"

Bin swallows thickly, "A cappuccino, please."

"For here, like usual?" Dongmin asks brightly.  Bin's heart thunders at the casual use of 'usual'.  Dongmin knows his preferences to a certain extent and it gets his heart strings all tangled and knotted.

Bin nods and slides over the cash in exact change before Dongmin even has to tell him the total.  Bin is what some might refer to as a 'regular'.

Dongmin smiles in response, "I'll bring your drink to you when it's ready."

"Thank you," Bin murmurs, finding himself unable to finally introduce him to a person he has spent hours admiring.

He turns around and begins to make his way to his seat, but he manages to briefly regain a grip on his nerves; the desire to make progress with Dongmin surges through his veins and compels him to turn on his heel and blurt out, "I'm Moon Bin."

The second that it passes his lips, he has the strong desire to find a way to reel the words back into the mouth.  He wants to leave, forget his coffee, bite the bullet and take the loss for the drink in order to escape.  Introducing himself to his barista, one that has an  _intense_ crush on, is one of the worst ideas that he has ever had.

Why would Dongmin want to know?

Bin whips back around, face rapidly turning red as he settles down at an empty table.  Embarrassment and a small hint of shame wash over him.  If he had his way, the ground would swallow him whole and wipe him off the face of the earth.  He pulls out a well-loved book, the corners of pages folded over into dog ears, the paper jacket held together by a network of tape strips, favorite passages underlined.

He overcompensates in his embarrassment and attempts to devote all of his attention to reading a book that he has read several times over.  There is no mystery, only soothing repetition.  In his book, he knows the ending and character progression.  The author has set up a linguistically pleasing world and the character always have resolutions to their questions and emotional queries.  Real life is different. Real life is uncertain, and Bin strongly dislikes uncertainty and guess-work.

Bin sinks down as far as the chair will allow and sneaks the occasional glance at Dongmin.

Dongmin will probably brush it off, one of his many admirers vying for his attention.  Bin is obvious, as always.  His only advantage used to be the maintained distance between, now Bin is in the direct light.  Dongmin is free to set the terms and reject Bin at his leisure.

Dongmin approaches with a cup carefully balanced on a saucer, and Bin laments the times that he was just a customer with a crush that he kept to himself.

Bin shoves his nose even further into his book, pretending that he is struggling to read a particular sentence, which, in reality, is just the running head.  He waits until Dongmin has gone through his quiet process of making space, setting down a napkin, and then the drink.  As per usual, he quietly tells Bin to enjoy the beverage in a such a way, that if he were really reading, would do nothing to impede his comprehension of the piece of literature in his hands.

He waits until Dongmin is safely behind the counter and occupied with another customer to let the muscles in his body go slack.

He sets his book down and looks at his cappuccino.  Perhaps, he can drown himself in it.  With a heavy sigh, he picks up the cup and brings it to his lips.  He blows on the surface, briefly thinking that he should simply burn his tongue to prevent any future slip-ups.

He takes a sip and savors what he treats as the last drink that Dongmin will ever make for him because he can never return.

That's when he sees it.

Black markings on the pristine surface of the napkin beneath his saucer.

Bin pulls it out from under the plate, and the markings become legible, neatly scrawled letters followed by a ten-digit number.

_Moon Bin-_

_Somehow, I never imagined that would be the combination of characters that comprise your name.  I've guessed plenty and been plenty wrong as it seems. I would make some cheesy suggestion about watching the moon together, but I fear I would be too busy watching you._

_Hoping that you take advantage of my number,_

_Lee Dongmin._

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](http://yehetno.tumblr.com) is where you say words to me and get a response! pls talk to me.  
>  #get_meta  
> **completely unrelated, but yes, i still write myungjin and the next one looks like it's going to be a bear, so it may take a good while. don't abandon me~!


End file.
